USE OF MAGNET IN SALVAGE

Southland Times, Issue 24608, 3 December 1941, Page 6

USE OF MAGNET IN SALVAGE

TESTS OF GEAR FOR WAIKOUAITI

The first sea tests of a powerful magnet for the salvage of iron anl steel from the cargo of the Waikouaiti,-off Dog Island, will be made today. The magnet, which was constructed by Mr R. T. Parsons in his foundry at Invercargill, was tested yesterday and proved to be highly effective. The magnet consists of a metal casting 20 inches in diameter and eight inches deep, weighing 6501 b. The internal wiring has been carefully sealed to make it waterproof and the electric cable is shielded from water by a rubber hose. The electrical energy is supplied by a generator coupled to a motor-car engine.

In the tests yesterday the magnet performed satisfactorily on extremely low power. It lifted loads of up to three tons with ease and exerted tremendous pulls on iron and steel. According to the specifications, it will be effective for loads of up to six tons with a full margin of safety. In the hold of the Waikouaiti are large numbers of steel billets and slabs of pig iron, and it is expected that the magnet will bring them up without difficulty. The under-water weight of the iron and steel will be much below the weight in the air and the greatest lift will be above water level in swinging the cargo into the salvage vessel. The diver who will work with the magnet under water stated that on the performances yesterday the magnet should greatly facilitate the recovery of the valuable metal in the hold of the vessel.

Mr Parsons expressed satisfaction with the tests, and said that the gear would be installed on the salvage vessel Marina today for the first trip to the wreck with the magnet. Mr Parsons said he believed there would be a great future in the use of magnets for the recovery of cargo from sunken vessels. He considered that after the war it would be practicable to raise many of the vessels lost through mines, torpedoes or shell-fire. The equipment would not be costly and magnets of greater power than the one just constructed would be valuable in salvage work.